Stranger Things Have Happened
by TheFerociousHeart
Summary: Dorian has a lot to learn about his feelings. Friendship, love, anger, fear; he has no idea what to do with them but he feels them every day. While an emerging anti-android group starts a campaign against the MX series and Dorian, he has to find out who and how to trust. - Dorian/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Dorian swiveled with the chair he was sitting on, trying to figure out what to do next. John had plans for the night so he'd stayed in the department to go through a few files about the case John had been working on when he lost his partner. There had to be something, anything the others had missed before. He liked John; he had become a friend lately, especially after understanding that unlike the MXs he did have feelings.

Letting out a sigh of frustration, Dorian looked around. There were only a handful of people in the building since the night shifts were handled by the MXs most of the time. Times like this he started to understand the true meaning of the word boredom. There was nothing to do there. Absolutely nothing.

Quite a long time had passed before he gave up and went for a walk around the floor, looking for someone to talk to. He hated being alone, having no plan for the evening, but it was a part of his life; he couldn't do anything about that. Only a minute or so later he heard a woman swear quite loudly a few doors away, making an MX going in right away to ask if everything was okay with her.

"I'm perfectly fine," she said angrily. "Only because you hear me swearing you don't have to march into my office. Now get out of here."

The android stepped out to the hallway, his eyes falling on Dorian for a second before he turned around and disappeared behind a corner. They barely noted the real nature of human emotions, designed to be unable to fully understand them. He did, sometimes even better than John, but he knew he still had a lot to learn. A small smile had crept on his lips at the thought.

The moment he reached the door, Dorian stopped. Maybe she wanted to stay alone. Maybe she could use some company. He didn't know. All he knew was her name and position along with everything in her files but those told him nothing about her personality. Her name was Allison Burgess, thirty years old, the communications liaison of the department. She had a degree in both communication and law, but turned to this profession after her father became the district attorney. That was it.

One thing he'd learned from Detective Stahl was how much someone could appreciate a small act of kindness. It was late but she was still working so Dorian assumed she would probably enjoy a cup of coffee. This is what he did; going back to the kitchen, making a cup of coffee then returning to her office. He knocked and waited. Then he knocked again but she still didn't answer.

"I thought I was clear when I told you to leave me alone," she snapped the moment he stepped in. When she looked up and noticed it was him, she spoke up again with her head slightly tilted. "Oh, you are not the MX, sorry," she said with a small smile. "But I thought androids didn't drink or eat."

Dorian smiled at her, reaching her desk with two long steps so he could hand her the paper cup. "We don't, but after I heard you shouting at the MX like this I thought you could use some coffee."

"Wow," the woman said with wide eyes. "Thank you. Can I ask you something?"

"Yes," he replied while he sat on the nearest chair.

Allison hesitated, her grey eyes set on him. He knew she was nervous, there were many physical signs that proved it, but John had already told him to try and not look at people like an android would. "Why are you doing this?" she finally asked quietly. "We don't even know each other."

"Maybe this is why."

"Really?"

"Or maybe I have an ulterior motive," Dorian added with a smile.

The woman laughed and her reaction was surprisingly honest. "I think Kennex has a bad influence on you," she said, pointing at him.

"Why were you so," he started slowly, trying to change the topic by asking the next question, "tense?"

For a few seconds Allison stared at him with a frown, but then her expression changed and she said, "Oh, that. Some idiot talked to a journalist about a case at the crime scene without my permission. Now it's my responsibility to clean up his mess, but the editor-in-chief doesn't want to cooperate. Okay, my turn again. What is it like to work with Kennex?"

Dorian thought about it. How could he describe their relationship? Partners? Colleagues? Friends? He wanted to believe they were closer to the latter but wasn't sure. Not yet. So he shrugged. "Not that bad," he replied.

They kept asking questions, completely unaware of the time, but somehow it didn't matter. Dorian liked the fact that Allison didn't treat him as if he was only an android; she acted as if she was talking to a friend. It was really nice.

* * *

"Captain," Allison said with a small nod as she walked into the office and stopped in front of the desk. "Thank you for seeing me."

"Sit down, Ms. Burgess. How's our little journalist problem?" she asked.

Allison leaned back in the chair and took a deep breath. "I took care of it. Actually, I'm here because of Dorian." The captain raised an eyebrow but otherwise remained silent. "Maybe you should read this," she said, handing her a device.

A minute passed while she read the text, letting out a short humming sound every once in a while. In the end Captain Maldonado put the device on her desk and said, "I'm listening."

"As you could see this blog post had been published a few weeks ago, but ever since then a really small group of people have been paying a bit more attention to crime scenes than they normally do. It wouldn't be such a big problem but there are a handful of people among them who are not only against the idea of the DRN but androids in general. Radical groups can find certain ways to influence the public especially after what happened with the DRN series. Letting Dorian work on crime scenes might be dangerous."

"You don't like Dorian either," she stated.

Allison quickly shook her head. "It's not about Dorian and has absolutely nothing to do with my personal preferences when it comes to androids. I'm not the best terms with the MXs, that's true, but the reason behind that feeling is more than simple. They are really, incredibly creepy."

"That was very professional from someone responsible for the department's communication," the captain noted. "But why now? You said it yourself, the post is a few weeks old but you only mention now. Why?"

"The problem is Dorian's synthetic soul. People usually don't have a problem with androids but if they become too human it can become a problem. Remember what happened when the DRN series was introduced? Dorian is," Allison started, stopping for a short second to think. "He looks human. He acts like a human being. I swear sometimes he's a better human being than some of us."

"You still haven't answered my question."

"Yesterday I worked quite late as usual. Someone made me angry, I was shouting then I swore loudly, an MX came into my office, I sent him away without even trying to be nice, and a few minutes later Dorian appeared with a cup of coffee. I mean, he thought I could use some caffeine. Even my intern doesn't take the time to bring me coffee."

The captain let out a sigh and gave her a questioning look. "So your problem is that Dorian is too nice?" Allison shrugged in response. "What do you want me to do?"

"Nothing," she admitted. "My intern will monitor every website, every post, comment or article that has something to do with this. Until it becomes a real issue, I'll forget about it, but I wanted you to be aware of it."

The captain nodded and dismissed the young woman. She tapped her fingertips on her desk before grabbing her phone and calling John to come to her office right away. Allison seemed calm about it, but she had a feeling it was nothing more than an act, otherwise she wouldn't tell her intern to monitor the topic.

Once the detective arrived, she started talking almost immediately and without a greeting. "I'll be short, John. From now on, if you go anywhere with Dorian and see someone taking pictures of either the two of you or only him, you'll inform me as soon as you can."

"What's going on?"

"Don't worry about it."

"Sandra, I know you," he insisted. "There must be a reason."

Captain Maldonado shook her head. "Just for once, do it without asking why. If it becomes relevant and important, I'll tell you. Oh, and make sure Dorian doesn't find out. I don't want him to worry about this."

* * *

**Author's note:** Hello! OMG I love Almost Human and Dorian so much that I couldn't resist. Sorry. The chapters will be longer later, and the story is normally written in Dorian's POV but there are parts where I have to change it. Well, tell me if you like it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

One case followed another most of the time but there were two days that passed in relative peace, without any major case he and John had to work on. Dorian started to appreciate the time he could spend with his partner, and sometimes with Valerie, talking about things that had nothing to do with the precinct and crimes. It was good, even perfect compared to what was waiting for him back in the department where most MXs spent the night in the basement until their partners returned in the morning.

He, on the other hand, didn't want to spend more time around them, among his own kind. Those androids were really intimidating, even from his point of view. For a while he had thought about having a hobby but nothing came to his mind, instead he went to see if Rudy was still in. Sometimes Dorian found himself going to Allison Burgess' office when she stayed in late, standing in front of the door without knocking.

There was no other reason for being there but the boredom he was suffering from. Dorian knew her intern usually left mid-afternoon while Allison stayed in her office for almost nine or ten in the evening. Most people left quite early if they had someone waiting for them at home or friends they usually met for a drink after work, but she stayed, maybe out of dedication or loneliness.

One day, when John left to take care of something and he found himself alone with Valerie, Dorian decided to ask her about the woman. He knew they occasionally talked so he hoped she could answer at least some of his questions. In the end, he got nothing, mostly because the rest of their conversation was dominated by Valerie's questions about his sudden interest in her. The detective then left and Dorian, once again, found himself in front of Allison's office.

There were mornings when Dorian simply knew John would be grumpy for the rest of the day because he was sulking for absolutely no reason as if he was a six years old kid who didn't get what he wanted from his parents. It didn't matter what Dorian said, his partner always had a problem with it so he decided to stay silent and only talk when it was absolutely necessary.

This time it turned out that John wasn't in a bad mood that morning. He was probably plotting, thinking about the perfect way to bring up something Dorian probably wouldn't want to talk about. He turned to him with an evil smirk on his lips and asked, "So Burgess?"

Dorian gave his partner an annoyed look before he said, "Valerie told you?" John nodded. There was no turning back now because grumpy John would keep asking questions and annoy him until he found out everything he wanted to know. "I noticed that she spends most her evenings here," he explained.

"As far as I know she has some kind of a sleeping disorder."

"It's not in her file."

John let out a sarcastic huff in response. "Not everything can be found in the files," he informed him with a roll of his eyes as he sat behind his desk. "She's good when it comes to her job and this is all that matters at the end of the day, isn't it? But why are you so interested in her?"

The DRN sat on a nearby chair and looked at the other man. "I don't know. Maybe it's just good to know the human who stays here after you and the others leave for the night," he said.

He had already told John about the MXs in the basement where they were supposed to spend the night. Dorian hated it so sometimes he went somewhere with John, other times he left alone. He knew almost everything thanks to the instant access to every single database, but there was still a lot to learn about the world and everyday life. And this is exactly why the answer he had given John was partly a lie, because the reason why he was interested in Allison was completely different.

That woman didn't push him away like others did most of the time, giving him strange looks only because he was a DRN and not a real human being. By the end of their first conversation she had been a lot more relaxed and friendlier, seemingly happy to have someone around.

John cleared his throat. "Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know, that's why I'm asking," he explained but fell silent when his eyebrows slowly rose. "Wait a second," John began with a devilish smirk. Dorian knew it wasn't a good way to begin a sentence, but he bit his lip and waited for him to say whatever he wanted. "You like her."

"I don't," Dorian replied quickly.

The corners of the other detective's lips turned into a wide smile. "Yes, you do," he said like a kid in elementary school. "Talk to her or I will."

Dorian closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He was only messing with him; it was probably nothing more but a joke. "You wouldn't," he said.

"Oh, I would. Remember how you acted after you found out I like Valerie? You deserve it Dorian."

"No, I don't."

John laughed with a finger pointed at him. "Yes, you do. So you know what? I'll be nice and give you twenty-four hours to tell her."

"Only if you tell Detective Stahl everything as well," Dorian pointed out.

"Done," he announced with a wide and proud smile.

Raising an eyebrow, Dorian looked his partner in the eye. "You talked to her?"

"Asked her out, actually," he corrected him, "so we're going on a proper date."

"Seriously?"

"You don't believe it?"

"Honestly? I don't."

John huffed as he stood up and put his hands into his pockets. "You think I'm lying?"

"Your heartbeat was steady but I still don't believe it," Dorian replied with a challenging smile.

"Alright, ask her," he said as he looked over at Valerie who was talking to Captain Maldonado not too far from them. So he wasn't bluffing, otherwise he wouldn't let him go and talk to Valerie in front of everyone else. "Your turn, Dorian," he said, patting him on the shoulder. "Twenty-four hours."

Dorian hadn't talked to Allison that day because, even if he wanted to, something always came in the way. And then there was everything John had told him through his comments, pointing out that even if he was an android, he had feelings for her. He sat behind John's desk after most people had left for the night and kept his eyes on the hallway that led to her office. He liked her, it was true. Unlike the MXs he was designed to be as human as possible, therefore socializing was a part of his nature.

He could use another friend, one that wasn't necessarily a cop, so Dorian came up with a plan to start a conversation with her the next day. This plan included a message that told John maybe he should forget to come and pick him up in the morning. John's response was short and to the point: OK. The next step came in the morning, not long after Allison arrived and made sure her intern knew the plan for the day.

When Allison went to have a small chat with Captain Maldonado and the intern left her place, Dorian took a cup of coffee to her office and went to an empty desk where he waited for the communication liaison to return. He remembered their first conversation when she had mentioned how her intern never thought about bringing her a cup of coffee, but he took her one, and Dorian also hoped she would remember that.

"Jen, I don't know what happened, but thank you for the coffee it was," Allison started as she walked out of her office, looking around to find the younger woman. When she finally noticed the Dorian, she smiled and walked over to him. "Oh, it was you."

"Good morning, Allison," he said as he stood up.

"Morning, Dorian. I thought you were with John."

"Yeah, well, there are times when he accidentally forgets about me."

Allison gave him a questioning look. "Accidentally?"

"I know," he replied with a small nod.

She remained silent and Dorian had no idea what to do. It was strange, really, but he didn't want to make things worse. Then suddenly Allison's face lit up and she almost spilled her coffee on her dress. "Do you have anything to do now?"

"Nothing until John shows up," he replied without thinking.

"Great! Wanna help me?"

"Actually, I'm not here for that," Dorian started, his eyes set on her. He liked the way she pulled her dark blonde hair into a messy bun, and the simple black dress went perfectly with her eyes. These little details proved him his feelings were maybe a little bit stronger than he had thought, but he didn't know if it was anything like the attraction John felt when it came to Valerie.

Allison cleared her throat. "Sure, sorry."

It wasn't a part of his plan. He didn't want to make it sound like he didn't care about her at all and he hated to see that almost disappointed look in her eyes. "Allison, it's not-" he tried, but was interrupted in the middle of the sentence.

"Miss Burgess," Jen appeared out of nowhere, "a certain Patrick Mead has been trying to reach you for a while now. He says you are not answering his calls."

"I'm perfectly aware of that," she said with an irritated sigh. "I'll call him back later."

Jen didn't leave. "He says it's about Jaime."

Allison suddenly turned to her intern before saying, "Alright, I'll get it. Thank you, Jen." Finally the younger brunette left and they were alone again. She was nervous and it had taken her a few seconds to figure out what to say. Dorian didn't want to rush her so he waited patiently. "Once again, thanks for the coffee, Dorian," she said before turning around.

"Who's Jaime?" he asked, making her stop.

"Excuse me?"

"Who's this Jaime?" Dorian repeated.

Allison returned and put the cup on the desk. "Our dog," she replied. Biting her lower lip, she looked away. "Patrick brought him home around the time we moved in together."

"You have a boyfriend."

"I don't," she corrected him. "We broke up about a year ago, but does it matter?"

"Um, it doesn't, I was just curious."

"Okay," Allison said with a slow, doubtful nod. "See you later."

Dorian smiled at her and nodded. "Yeah, sure," he said.

Not too long after this conversation John arrived and gave his partner an expecting look. "How did it go?"

"I couldn't ask her."

"Coward," John noted with a smirk.

Dorian raised a finger. "No," he said as he sat opposite of him, "her ex-boyfriend called her before I could bring it up."

"What ex-boyfriend?"

"The one she lived with for a while and who she has a dog with."

Letting out a sigh, John leaned back and folded his hands on the back of his neck. "That's not good," he said.

"It's okay," Dorian replied with a shrug.

"How could it be okay? They are still talking."

On the other hand, Dorian was fairly confident about the situation. She wasn't seeing her ex-boyfriend and didn't seem to be interested in getting back together with him. It was a challenge. She said _see you later_. No problem at all. "I guess she wouldn't have answered if it wasn't about their dog," he informed John with a smile, and his partner nodded with a knowing look.

* * *

**Author's note:** Wow, thanks for the reviews! I hope this chapter wasn't too bad, but at least now I have serious plans for the next chapters. Don't be afraid to tell me what you think.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Her phone had barely stopped ringing ever since the hostage crisis came to an end. Jen had been previously instructed to only inform the reporters about the time of the upcoming conference and not the case itself, while Allison tried to concentrate on her job. Possible questions, topic, the amount and kind of information she wanted the public to get; so many things to do in such a short amount of time.

There was one person though, whose name caught her attention when she glanced at her phone. She didn't hesitate to answer but after about a minute of listening without the slightest chance of speaking, she loudly cleared her throat. "Roger, we'll discuss this during or after the press conference because I'm not telling you anything right now," she informed the man who didn't seem to give up. "I don't care. See you later."

Roger Lewis was one hell of a reporter, a man she almost considered a friend, but this time he was asking way too many questions at once. There was no way she would tell her anything before the others. Letting out a sigh, Allison stood up and left her fairly quiet office to find Captain Maldonado in the cheering crowd that welcomed the returning heroes of the afternoon. Neither John nor Dorian seemed to be happy about the unwanted attention and she could understand them.

"Captain, press conference is an hour from now," she informed the older woman once she could get close enough to her.

Maldonado looked at her watch before turning her gaze back to Allison. "Can't it wait?"

"I'm afraid it can't," she admitted. "Some of the hostages have been praising John and Dorian to the reporters so the sooner we inform them the better."

"Alright, I'll be there."

Allison nodded before she said, "I will send you a brief soon." One the way back to her office she noticed Dorian leaning against a desk, his t-shirt full of holes from the bullets. Rudy was checking out a nasty-looking wound on the DRN's temple but she walked over to them anyway. "Hey, you okay?" she asked with a worried smile.

"John used chewing gum!" Rudy complained as he took a few steps back and folded his arms.

"For what?"

Dorian pointed at his temple. "Fixing the hole in my head," he replied.

"Barbarian," Allison noted as she looked back at Rudy.

"Exactly what I said," he told her before adding, "John should apologize."

Allison nodded. She liked Rudy; he was a really weird but unbelievably intelligent guy who seemed to be a little bit overprotective when it came to Dorian. Just as most people, he also found the MX series bots annoying at times, while the DRNs were different. They were likeable and Dorian was the perfect example for that. "So you okay now?" she asked again.

"Thanks to Rudy I'm fine."

"That's good." She had no idea why she hadn't noticed his blue eyes before. Now that she stood so close to him it was impossible not to keep her eyes on them, but strangely enough he seemed to be watching her just as closely. "You know, I was wondering if you-"

"Oi!" Rudy shouted next to them, looking at John's direction as he approached them. Both she and Dorian turned to watch the two of them from where they were standing after she had chosen to move next to the man and lean against the same desk. "I've got a bone to pick with you, Detective. Chewing gum? Really? Would you fix a race car with chewing gum?"

"Uh, yeah, if it was busted and I need to win a race," John replied a matter-of-factly.

Allison bit her lower lip to stop herself from laughing. The look on Rudy's face told everything about his thoughts but she decided not to pick a side no matter how much she wanted to help him. Using chewing gum was gross and imagining it being stuck to Dorian's face made the thought even worse.

"He'll need extensive diagnostics," Rudy announced.

John replied with a theatrical wave of his hand as he said, "That can wait." He turned to Dorian. "Come on, let's get some noodles."

"You are aware that I don't eat?"

"Perfect, I'm buying. Let's roll."

Dorian hesitated, glancing at Rudy for a second since he had just mentioned the diagnostics, but Allison jumped a little when she felt the man's little finger covering hers for a second. She wasn't expecting it, but it happened and Dorian glanced at her a moment later. "Are you coming with us?" he asked casually.

"No, I have a lot of work to do. You two go and celebrate," she added with a smile. "You deserve it. See you later."

As John and Dorian walked away, Rudy just stood there with a disappointed look on his face. "Oh, I'll just wait here, shall I?" he asked quietly.

Allison patted the man on the shoulder when she stood next to him. "John can be an asshole but you know it's not personal," she said before heading back to her office. "I'll get you some noodles and cake later," she called back.

Almost two hours later Allison was sitting behind her desk, watching the news on a channel to see what they had to say about the hostage crisis. The press conference had gone surprisingly easily and there were barely any questions they had to refuse to answer. Captain Maldonado, as always, did a wonderful job. Reporters had always loved her, the confident and charismatic woman who never took no as an answer.

There was a knock on the door and she looked up to see Roger Lewis walk in. "Do you have a minute?"

"Roger, I'm not giving you a private interview," she said with a long sigh.

"I don't need an interview, only information," the man said as he sat down across from her. His brown eyes were locked with hers, making it clear he wasn't lying her. "Trust me, Allison. I'm not working against you this time; I'm simply trying to help."

They had been working together in the past and if there was a reporter she truly trusted it was Roger. "What is this all about?"

"The DRN who saved the hostages with Kennex," he replied. Allison cleared her throat and defensively folded her arms over her chest. "Hey, don't give me that disapproving look. I guess some people won't be happy that you're bringing back the DRN series."

"We're not bringing them back."

Roger raised an eyebrow at her statement. "Then what is he doing here?"

"It's a special case but I can't talk about it. All you need to know is that Dorian is the only working DRN we have and it won't change in the future," she explained diplomatically.

"Sure?"

"Yes, Roger, this is the truth."

He nodded and leaned back in the chair. "Okay, my turn. A little birdie told me that this DRN had been spotted before by people who aren't exactly peaceful when it comes to _defending humanity_ as they say."

"Yeah, I read some posts about it but I don't think it's serious."

"It's escalating, Allison," Roger pointed out as he handed the woman a handheld screen. "This conversation appeared in an online community two days ago. Normally I would say it's nothing more but a conversation between insane fanatics but the other post on the next tab was published like three hours ago. That man or woman is talking about a revolution."

Allison glanced at the door above Roger's shoulder. She couldn't believe it. "You say the first one has been online for two days now?" she asked hoarsely.

"Yes, why?" Roger asked with a confused expression.

"Nothing, it's just that," she started but stopped for a moment. "I told my intern to monitor these posts and give me a report every single day but I didn't see this one."

Roger shrugged. "Well, it's online and anyone can find it. Maybe you should fire her," he added jokingly.

Of course, he probably believed it was a mistake and Jen was a pretty bad intern, but that girl was talented and she knew it couldn't be a mistake. She laughed with him nonetheless as they both stood up. "At least you showed it to me. I owe you one, Roger."

For a while Allison paced back and forth in her office, trying to find a way to handle the situation. She was sure Jen was deliberately hiding those things from her but she had absolutely no idea why she would do such thing. All she wanted was peace, a mug full of hot chocolate and a good movie, but she couldn't get herself to go home yet. Instead she grabbed her jacket and headed down to the basement where Rudy was probably running the diagnostics on Dorian.

The android was lying on a table in the middle of the basement, his eyes closed as if he had been deactivated. Behind him and in front of a large screen Rudy was following the process, nodding every once in a while before moving away to take a look at another device. He hadn't noticed her coming in and she didn't want to scare him so Allison cleared her throat before speaking up.

"How is he?" she asked quietly.

Rudy didn't even turn around when he answered. "I'm still running the diagnostics but everything's fine so far, no sign of any major damage in his system."

"I'm glad to hear that." She walked over to Dorian, running a finger along the now spotless skin where only a few hours before there was that wound from the shot. Her eyes moved to his chest, noticing the still hole-filled shirt on him. "Will you fix the other bullet holes as well?"

"It's done, all he needs is a new shirt," the man replied with a tired smile. "You're worried."

"Of course I'm worried."

"I've never seen you down here before, Allison," he pointed out.

It was true. She hadn't come down to that place in the past, mostly because she had nothing to do with it. She never had a reason to visit Rudy but now there was Dorian and somehow it seemed natural. Looking back at Rudy, Allison shrugged. "You look tired," she said, changing the topic.

"It was a long day."

"How long will the diagnostics run?"

"I have no idea, but I have to stay to make sure everything is okay."

"You know what? Go home and get some sleep, I'll stay here. If I see anything on the screen that doesn't seem to be okay, I'll call you," she offered.

He gave her a weird look at first then he nodded and pointed at the big screen. "If something's wrong, you'll see a big red message there and Dorian will stay like this, but if everything is good, he'll wake up and take care of the rest," he explained.

Allison nodded and said goodbye. After pulling a chair next to the table she sat down and closed her eyes for a second. She had no idea why she cared but she did, especially after that nanosecond upstairs before John dragged him away to eat noodles. Actually she liked Dorian, even if he was one of the crazy DRNs as some people said. Humans are humans because of their flaws and Dorian had his own flaws. He wasn't an ice cold MX but an android that was a better human being than his human partner.

* * *

**Author's note: Thanks for the reviews! If you like the story leave one, they keep me motivated to write. **


	4. Chapter 4

_"And I will stumble and fall_

_I'm still learning to love_

_Just starting to crawl"_

A Great Big World & Christina Aguilera - Say Something

* * *

**Chapter 4**

When Dorian woke up in the middle of the night, he first thought he was alone in the basement. He glanced at the screen next to the table as he pulled all the wires off himself and noted with a nod that everything seemed to be fine. Dorian stood up and looked around, noticing Allison on the couch Rudy had put in a corner not far from the stairs.

At the same time he realized Rudy was nowhere to be found.

Dorian grabbed his jacket and walked over to the woman, careful not to make too much noise. He had no idea why, but lately he was thinking about her more than it would be considered normal. Of course, maybe it wasn't that bad; maybe it was just a new kind of feeling he had to learn how to deal with. Smiling to himself, Dorian put his jacket on her as a blanket and swept a strand of her hair out of her face.

She groaned and turned on her side.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up," he said quietly as she sat up on the couch and rubbed her eyes.

"No, don't apologize," Allison assured him with a tired smile. "I promised Rudy I'll stay here to keep an eye on you but I obviously fell asleep."

Dorian picked up his jacket and sat down next to her. "I'm fine, don't worry."

"That's good. But you'll need a new shirt," she said with a quiet laugh as she tugged on it. Something was different about the way she talked to him but he had no idea what it was. It definitely wasn't just the smile on her face or the way her grey eyes were set on him but the strange vibe as if she was flirting with him. "How was your dinner with John?"

For the first time in a while he had no idea what to say, because when she casually leaned her head on his shoulder, every single thought was erased from his mind. "Well, practically I was waiting for him to finish his noodles."

"John and noodles," Allison said with a sigh. "I swear it's abnormal."

"I agree," he replied, wrapping his arms around her shoulder and placing a soft kiss on the top of her head. He thought she would be angry but she only snuggled against his shoulder.

"I should go home before I fall asleep again."

"I'll go with you." Allison furrowed her eyebrows as she looked up at him. "To make sure you get home safe," he explained. Of course, that was only half of the truth.

"You don't have to do this, Dorian, I can take care of myself."

Dorian stood up and took her hand to help her stand up. "I insist."

"Alright, come on."

As usual, Dorian sat into the passenger seat and the first few minutes of the ride passed in complete silence. He always loved leaving the precinct without John, but this time it was special because he had Allison as a company. Her problem with him tagging along wasn't personal; it was just that she didn't want him to do something like this out of a sense of duty.

But it wasn't a part of his job. He came with her because of _her_ and not simply because it was late night and he didn't want her to be alone. "Why can't you sleep?" Dorian asked, hoping he would get the answer to the question he'd been thinking about for a few days now. "I haven't found anything about your sleeping disorder in your files."

"You read my files?"

"Only parts of it," he admitted.

"Why on earth would you," Allison started but stopped almost right away and shook her head. "Never mind, I'm more interested in that sleeping disorder thing. Who told you that?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Dorian."

He looked out of the window. "John," he finally replied.

"I'm going to kill him. Anyway, that's not true, I'm totally fine."

"Then why do you spend the evenings in your office?"

"I pushed my shift back a little bit. I mean, if something big happens in the afternoon, I usually have to stay in to answer questions anyway. I decided to go in around noon and stay in longer. That's all."

"I'm sorry."

Allison laughed at him, but the smile on her face was genuine as she spoke up. "You don't have to apologize, it's not your fault and you said absolutely nothing wrong."

Their conversation died at this point but Dorian didn't mind the silence. Even when she parked the car and headed to the elevator, he followed her without saying a word, right until they reached the door of her apartment. Allison didn't seem to have a problem with him being there and he nowhere to go for the night apart from the department so he decided to stay until he could.

The moment the door opened a black pitbull jumped on Allison, obviously happy to see her again. He remembered the conversation when she had told him about her ex-boyfriend and their dog, but she couldn't imagine her leaving the dog behind and staying in the department with him instead.

"Hey, buddy, what are you doing here?" Allison asked the dog when she crouched in front of him.

"Waiting for you," came the short answer from a man who appeared from the living room. "I thought we agreed that I'll bring him over tonight. Oh, wait, that was yesterday."

Dorian knew his name. He was the ex-boyfriend, Patrick Mead; a thirty-five years old, quite tall and lean man with blond hair and blue eyes and with a job as a stockbroker that sounded incredibly boring to him. Probably he found it boring because he was designed to be a cop, but he wasn't sure.

"Okay, sorry, but I had to work. How did you even get in?"

"Spare key."

Allison let out a sigh and stood up. "I don't even want to know why you still have that."

"You should have called me so I don't bring him over only to find out you're not home," Patrick replied angrily, finally walking closer to them.

"Rick, I told you I would call you when I can go to bring him over to my place."

"That's definitely not what you said." Patrick stopped, thought for a second then started laughing. Even without seeing her face, Dorian could tell the woman's body tensed. "But you know what? I shouldn't be surprised that you chose your job. You and your priorities," he added maliciously.

"Are we going to have this fight again?"

Running a hand though his short hair, the man shrugged. "Sure, forget it. But who is he?"

This seemed to be the first time he noticed there was someone else in the apartment. He must have been so focused on the small fight with her that he paid absolutely no attention to their surroundings. "Dorian," the woman replied before turning to him. "Dorian, this is Rick and he's just about to leave."

"Wait a second, is he a bot?"

"Thanks for bringing Jamie here, good night," Allison said, trying to drag him out of the apartment.

"No, Allison, I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on." Dorian noticed something: he was worried. He was genuinely worried about her safety and his next questions proved him right. "Why does a bot have to escort you home? What happened?"

"Nothing, Rick. Nothing happened. And his name is still Dorian," she added. "Thanks for bringing Jamie here, now goodnight."

There was something about the way they had talked to each other. They argued, seemingly angry at the other one but it was all a lie. Even he noticed it without the experience in these emotions that they still felt something for the other one. Probably John had been right and it wasn't a good thing but they weren't together now.

Dorian wondered how he ended up thinking about this. He wished they would never get back together so he would have a chance to figure out if there could be anything between them. Could she ever love him? After all he wasn't human.

Allison let out a sigh and walked into the living room, pouring herself a glass of brandy before she sat on the couch, followed by Jamie who immediately lied next to her and rested his head on her thigh. After a few minutes of silent thinking, Dorian decided to sit in the armchair next to her.

"You know, Jamie is the only reason why we still talk every once in a while," he said with a dry laugh as she took a sip of her brandy. "Without him I would've lost everything," Allison added, gently stroking the pitbull's fur. "I would have lost Patrick for good."

"Don't you think it might be better without him?"

Allison's answer was a sour laugh at first. "We didn't break up because we didn't love each other anymore," she replied in the end.

He furrowed his eyebrows but didn't say anything. This answer had proved his theory right, meaning she still loved that man. Maybe it was time for him to leave. "I think-"

"I thought I could give up everything for him," she began, interrupting him. "But when it really mattered, I couldn't give up my job. Instead of getting married and getting my happily ever after I'm dedicating my life to my fucking job."

She talked, words pouring out of her mouth as she told him everything, even parts of the story she had probably never told anyone, not even her friend. Allison trusted him, but he didn't know if she trusted him as a friend or as a bot she kind of worked with. It had taken her another two glasses of brandy and an hour to finally go to sleep. He made sure she was sleeping peacefully before he left, returning to the only place he could call home.

* * *

**Author's note: Sorry for keeping all of you waiting for that long! The number of reviews I got is shocking, I mean that's a lot, but I'm so happy - thank you all! While I was away and university sucked the life out of me, I also watched Common Law (say hi to Rick who's based on Wes/Warren). I want that series back.**

**As for the quote in the beginning: I prefer the Alex & Sierra version (The X Factor). If you haven't heard it yet, go and check it out. Then listen to anything from Jeff Gutt because his voice is so perfect I would marry it if I could. **

**Anyway, I know this chapter kinda sucks (and sorry if you find typos, it's kinda late here) but reviews still make me happy.**


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